Hi SP,
Yes, That Pierce is a rare and beautiful auto. As to rare Model A's ... there are some. I have a 1929 AA Express truck like the one used on the Walton's TV series. It's a one ton truck with single rear wheels. The rare part is the bed, it's a 7 foot pick up bed with full running boards and rear fenders. The production was less than 300 for 1928 and '29. There are less than 50 of these trucks in existance, took me 25 years to find one. Most AA trucks were flatbed/stake body trucks. You couldn't haul as much in a one ton pick up so they were not popular. Plus, the ones that were built got banged up pretty good.
The railroad connection - Ford marketed the 1928 and '29 Express truck to railroads as a good vehicle to make deliveries to customers in small towns. Of course Railway Express used AA single rear wheel trucks with the box which some also called an express truck. The enclosed truck made better sense for REA than the pick up. So there were very few AA Express Trucks made by Ford.
Stewart